When student drivers start their learning process in order to get their license, they get a book in which to study the laws of traffic and safety. One of the first things I remembered from that book was the phrase "pedestrians have the right of way". I always thought it was pretty broad, but I used it to my advantage even before I started to drive. I have only been driving for about 9 months and before that I used to walk and ride the bus everywhere. I have always knew about that pedestrian law, but here is the catch, many drivers don't. During the time that I had to walk around, I have encountered many close calls and drivers that were too ignorant to even allowed a licensed let alone drive a car. It's not just pedestrians that are in danger of these, but also cyclists. Should the city do more in order to provide better safety and protection for these people? The answer isn't really what we are hoping for.
In this post by Gritsforbreakfast, the author discusses the issue that Austin is having regarding pedestrian safety. Grits began by criticizing the data that is provided from another source regarding the hike of "auto-pedestrian" deaths. The data claims that from 2010 - 2011, there is a 83% increase in the rate of death caused by cars to pedestrians. This is set and good but there isn't much backing behind that data to setup a real conclusion. While the source maybe accurate, this has not satisfy the author enough into believing that there is a trend on the rise. Grits further pointed out that this could be just random fluctuations. The source in which Grits gained his information from did not publish previous years to compare from. The author claims that the information is inclusive and should be further researched into. However, I do believe that there is enough data so that the city could provide some solutions. What the city started doing is ghastly at best and the author believes so too.
Instead of proving public education and providing the infrastructure to help reduce auto-pedestrian deaths, the APD decided just to ticket everybody. The majority of those tickets were issued to pedestrians as opposed the drivers who broke the auto-pedestrian laws. After, APD got bored of just ticketing mainly pedestrians, they decided to use them as decoys to ticket drivers. Grits mention that this will only further patronize the driver and does not alleviate the issue. I agree, APD is taking an aggressive approach into this issue, rather than subtle one. Furthermore, Grits pointed out that the police chief is taking a laid back approach into this matter. Instead of proactively finding a solution for everyone, the chief only complained about cuts and the "loss of respect" from drivers. I believe it is a matter of no respect and the lack of education that is causing some of these issues. The author came to the conclusion that there isn't enough data going back far enough to really press the city and APD into doing something meaningful. Right now, they are just making it up as they go. Pointless and meaningless.
